2 plead guilty to gunning down rival on Gates St.; get 10-11 years

Wednesday

Sep 11, 2013 at 4:16 PM

By Gary V. Murray, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — Two men charged with murder in the 2010 shooting death of 22-year-old Jose L. Rivera were each sentenced to 10 to 11 years in state prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter.

Cesar Camejo Torres, 27, and Waldemar Quinones, 26, both formerly of 3 Allen St., had been charged with first-degree murder in the April 6, 2010, fatal shooting of Mr. Rivera on Gates Street, but entered guilty pleas in Worcester Superior Court to voluntary manslaughter and firearm charges under plea agreements. Mr. Torres also pleaded guilty to an unrelated drug offense.

Assistant District Attorney Joseph A. Quinlan said Mr. Rivera was gunned down a few days after he and Mr. Torres got into a confrontation at a local nightclub. Both suspects shot the victim after confronting him on the night of April 6, 2010, in front of 36 Gates St., a short distance from Mr. Rivera's Hollis Street home, according to the prosecutor.

Four people are awaiting trial on accessory charges in the case.

As recommended by Mr. Quinlan and Mr. Torres' lawyer, Robert M. Griffin, Judge James R. Lemire sentenced Mr. Torres to 10 to 11 years on the manslaughter charge and to concurrent sentences of 2½ to 3 years in state prison for carrying a firearm without a license and 2 years in the House of Correction for unlawful possession of ammunition.

Mr. Torres was placed on probation for 2 years, to begin upon his release from prison, after pleading guilty to a heroin distribution charge stemming from the Nov. 5, 2009, sale of $60 worth of heroin to an undercover police officer.

Mr. Quinones was sentenced to 10 to 11 years' imprisonment on the manslaughter charge and to concurrent sentences of 2½ to 3 years for carrying a firearm without a license and 2 years in the House of Correction for unlawful possession of ammunition. Those sentences were recommended by Mr. Quinlan and Mr. Quinones' lawyer, E. Peter Parker.

Shortly before 9 p.m. on April 6, 2010, Mr. Torres received a telephone call informing him that Mr. Rivera was at 36 Gates St., according to Mr. Quinlan. Earlier in the day, Mr. Torres had been seen "flashing a handgun" in the neighborhood, the prosecutor said.

After receiving the call that night, Mr. Torres rounded up several people, including his girlfriend, co-defendant Kelly Ann Morin, and the group drove to the area of Gates Street in two vehicles, according to Mr. Quinlan. The cars were parked at Cheney and Gates streets and Mr. Torres and Mr. Quinones confronted Mr. Rivera on the sidewalk in front of 36 Gates St., the assistant district attorney said.

"It appeared Mr. Rivera was getting the upper hand on Torres. Torres pulled out the handgun and shot once. Mr. Rivera got up and started running. Quinones took the gun, started chasing Mr. Rivera and fired a second time. Torres and Quinones returned to the cars and drove away," Mr. Quinlan told the court.

The assistant district attorney said Mr. Rivera, who had been shot twice, collapsed at the corner of Gates and Hollis streets, where a passerby found him dead. An autopsy determined that he died from gunshot wounds, according to Mr. Quinlan.

Bruce Brown, who had been part of the group that drove to Gates Street with Mr. Torres and Mr. Quinones, allowed the two men to clean up at his mother's house on Mount Pleasant Street and offered them a ride to the Boston area in Ms. Morin's car, Mr. Quinlan said.

A day or two later, when it appeared they had not been identified as suspects, Mr. Torres and Mr. Quinones returned to Worcester, according to the prosecutor. The two men fled a second time, however, after Worcester police, who had been alerted about their roles in the slaying, began questioning people associated with them, Mr. Quinlan said.

Mr. Torres fled to Norfolk, Va., where Worcester police tracked him down and arrested him on May 14, 2010, according to Mr. Quinlan. Mr. Quinones, with help from his girlfriend, Kimberly Grandmaison, went to Puerto Rico, where they were arrested on May 5, 2010, Mr. Quinlan said.

After being returned to Worcester, Ms. Grandmaison led investigators to Coes Pond, where she said Mr. Quinones had dumped the handgun about 20 feet offshore, Mr. Quinlan told the court.. Divers found a bag in the water containing a .22-caliber handgun and ammunition, he said.

Mr. Quinlan said forensic and ballistic tests were inconclusive in determining whether the weapon was the one used to shoot Mr. Rivera. As recovered from the water, the gun would not fire, he said. Its caliber was consistent, however, with the caliber of the weapon that fired the projectiles recovered at the time of Mr. Rivera's autopsy, according to the assistant district attorney.

Mr. Brown, Ms. Morin, Ms. Grandmaison and Sheila M. Chase, all of Worcester, are awaiting trial on accessory charges. Their cases have been continued to Sept. 18.

"He left two little girls without a father. You don't do that," Mr. Rivera's mother, Carmen Rivera, said in an emotional courtroom impact statement.

Mr. Torres and Mr. Quinones were given credit for time served since the dates of their arrests.

As a condition of probation, Mr. Torres was ordered to have no contact with Mr. Rivera's family or any witnesses in the case. He was further ordered to possess no weapons or drugs.